DRAGONS OF FOREVER: The Greatest Challenge
by Strannik
Summary: Never try to come between a 500-year-old ninja and her purse


_Welcome to a secret world that hides beneath the surface of the mundane. It is a world of urban legends and rumors, a world of astonishing deeds and epic battles. Meet its enigmatic inhabitants. Learn their secrets, their desires, their beliefs, their hopes and their dreams. Listen to the tales of pain, injustice, compassion, kindness, courage, teamwork, love, sacrifice and hope. Meet the guardian angels, the warriors, the philosophers, the priests, the phantoms and the wanderers. But remember – once you enter this world, you can never truly leave it._

DRAGONS OF FOREVER: The Greatest Challenge

"He stole my purse," Miyoko whispered, "I can't believe he stole my purse."

For the third time in my long, long life, I was too stunned to say anything.

"_Ninja is always aware of his environment_," Yami-sama used to tell us, "_ninja must see all, hear all, know all. Ninja must be ready to block before his opponent knows that he wants to draw a sword. Remember that the crowd is a friend to the daring, but it has no compassion for fools_."

"Miyoko…" I tried to console her, but her glare froze my words before they could escape my throat.

"This is inexcusable," she insisted darkly, "I outwitted politicians and secret services. I snuck into the Bank of Switzerland. I fought alongside some the greatest warriors that ever lived and, by Onzin, I won! I will not be bested by some stupid, smelly robber!"

"Did I ever mention that I admire your calm and rationality?"

"Oh, shut up!" she scolded.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, I couldn't help but smile.

A look from Miyoko made it clear that if I keep this up, I'll have to spend the next few weeks on the couch.

"Anyway…" I said, "We need to find the robber. He robbed you while we were crossing the street. If he left any clues, they are thousands of miles away by now."

"Did you get a good look at his face?" asked Miyoko

"No."

"Crap. Neither did I."

"So we can't ask around…" I sighed, "Great. Now what?"

We looked off into the sky, pondering our options.

"Wait a minute!" cried Miyoko

"Huh?"

"My cell phone was in my purse."

"So?" I shrugged.

"You can call Remus and ask him if he can use one of his high-tech satellite do-heekies to find it."

She looked so excited. Thankfully, not excited enough to send my sanity scrambling for cover.

"Miyoko, love," I pointed out, "In case you forgot, Rem runs a few dozen companies, an international corporation, several universities, a network of low-cost clinics and a secret society. He is one of the major leaders of a decent-sized city. He has parties to attend, geniuses to impress, cutting-edge technology to invent and ladies to charm. Do you really think he has any time for us?"

"Of course," Miyoko nodded without missing a beat, "he is the closest thing you ever had to a best friend. Besides, I think he has a thing for me."

What could I do? I sighed, pulled out my cell phone and called his office.

"Prospero International," said a bubbly voice on the other end of the line, "How may I help you?"

"Laura, it's Richard," I replied, "Can you get your boss on the line?"

"One sec."

After a short pause, a familiar baritone inquired:

"What is it?"

"Some scumbag stole Miyoko's purse," I explained, "It has her cell phone in it. Can you track it?"

Rem smirked: "Depends. Is it on?"

I relayed the question to Miyoko. She nodded.

"Yes, it is."

"Good," I could hear a chair sliding across the room, "Let me secure the frequency." Pause "OK, what's the number?"

I gave it to him.

"Let's see." I could hear clicking of the keys in the background, "luckily, one of my satellites is passing right over the city." Pause. "OK. Turn on your Palm Pilot."

I pulled out the barely used gizmo.

"In a few seconds, the satellite feed will appear on the screen. I programmed it to update the footage once every five minutes. You'll have to do the rest."

"Thanks, Remus," I said

"No problem," he shot back, "Anyway, I have to go now. I got some… business to attend to. Good luck."

"Thanks."

I hung up without another word. Then, I put my cell phone back in my pocket and summarized the situation to Miyoko.

"Let's see," she peered at the map, "he is heading for the intersection between Hamlet and Sawyer."

"That's about two kilometers away." I calculated.

"No problem. We can make it."

"By the time we get there, he might already be gone."

"So what," Miyoko shrugged, "We got Rem's program. Now move!"

I didn't have to be asked twice.

We flew through the crowd, slithering through the tiniest cracks without a second thought. Couple of times, people tried to get in the way. We either dodged to the side or kindly sent them into the nearest wall. We had to accomplish two contradictory goals: we had to be fast, but we couldn't attract attention. Somehow, we managed to succeed. At least I thought we did.

"There he is!" Miyoko shouted.

And we didn't even have to reach the intersection.

I looked ahead. Our target was waiting for the light to change. A green strap was dangling out of his bag. He wasn't stupid. Luckily for us, he wasn't smart, either.

"He is surrounded by civilians," I hissed in Japanese. "We can't neutralize him."

"We don't have to," Miyoko hissed back. "We can just knock him unconscious, take my purse and call the police."

"What, you don't want to kick his ass."

"I can do that later. Right now, we've got more important things to worry about. Like the changing light…"

"MOVE!"

We made our way through the crowd. We couldn't take him out while he was crossing the street. He would be flattened as soon as the light went red. So we waited. And waited.

The robber seemed to be taking his time. He was dragging along, humming some kind of rap song.

"Move it, loser!" Miyoko shouted

_Great. So much for stealth. _

"Who said that!" the robber shouted. He wanted to turn around, but the crowd wouldn't let him.

Miyoko quickly melted into the shadows.

"Nice save," I whispered

"Thanks. Sorry I lost control."

"Don't dwell. Do." I said in a gruff voice

"Master Yami at his finest?"

"Either him or Yoda. I am not sure anymore."

Miyoko barely suppressed a chuckle.

Meanwhile, we made it on the other side of the street.

We let the robber walk a few more feet.

What happened next was pure perfection. I went around the robber, blocking his way.Miyoko came up behind him. In a flash, her soft finders pushed a few nerve clusters on the guy's neck. A moment later, my leg sliced across his knees. The robber went down. Hard.

If the nerve strike didn't get him, the knock on the head did.

Suddenly, the crowd stopped in its tracks.

"Holy crap…"

"What happened?"

"That was, like, so awesome..."

"Is he alright?"

I looked around, praying that no one would panic.

Meanwhile, Miyoko calmly reached into the robber's bag and pulled out her cell phone.

"Hello?" she pronounced calmly, "I would like to report a robbery. Yes. No, I was the one who was robbed. Yes. No. He didn't get very far. No. Yes. Yes. I stopped him. Well, I knocked him out. Yes. It was easy, I swear. Well, my boyfriend helped, but… That's not the point! Look, just get someone to pick the guy up. Sawyer Prospect, right by Sawyer and Hamlet intersection. Hurry up! No, I can't wait, I got… Listen to me, little boy, I don't have time for your…"

Miyoko growled, took her purse and shoved the cell phone in it.

"He hung up on me!" she seethed, "I can't believe he hung up on me!"

I took her hand,

"Come on, love," I urged her calmly, but firmly, "You got your purse. Let's get out of here before Captain Chase comes and tries to arrest us for wrongful self-defense or something."

"When you are right, you are right," she smiled, "say, maybe we should pay Captain Chase a visit?"

"I don't think Rem would appreciate it," I quipped back, "Rem likes her."

"So what? Rem likes a lot of women."

"Maybe we should just bring her candy," I suggested

"Sure," Miyoko's mile turned into a mischievous grin. "How about Poisoned Chocolate Surprise?"

"One thing at a time, love. One thing at a time."


End file.
